N. Koreans say they stole goods on the island of Japan since no one else in the vicinity

North Korea aboard a recently confiscated vessel off northern Japan refused on Wednesday to respond to police interrogation over alleged theft of appliances from an uninhabited islet, despite having previously admitted the crime, research sources said. .

On November 28 an identification plate was found indicating that the vessel belongs to the North Korean army in front of the islet opposite Hokkaido, with 10 men on board.

The hut, located near a port of refuge, had been closed, but it was looted and looted and the appliances, such as a television and a refrigerator, had been taken.

The North Korean crew admitted to stealing appliances from the cabin, saying "because there was no one else nearby," research sources said.

However, when police tried to question a man who appeared to be the captain of the boat on Wednesday morning to examine the case voluntarily, he refused to cooperate, the sources said.

T The Japanese Coastguard has towed the wooden boat into the waters of Hakodate Port. One of the crew members has been hospitalized due to ill health and the other nine crew members remain on board.

The Coast Guard found the crew throwing some artifacts and other items into the sea on November 29, and the Coast Guard picked up some of the objects.

Part of the crew had identification documents with their names and dates of birth.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed concern over the issue and said: "The government will raise stricter measures on maritime safety to deal with ships and suspicious people. "